Shadow Catcher
by sniperpal
Summary: Catherine Halsey saved the human race with her Spartan-IIs. Now, she seeks revenge against the people who betrayed her and tried to have her killed. Spartans are powerless to stop her, and the Storm Covenant follows her command. Serin Osman and ONI might be out of options. But Spartans are not humanity's only weapons...
1. Chapter 1

_This is for Bungie, the mad geniuses who began a great series, and Sean A. Lusher, the author who provided the inspiration for this project._

_Most characters in this story are owned by Bungie, 343, or the authors of the Halo books, particularly Karen Traviss. This is simply my borrowing of their characters._

_Enjoy!_

Converging Fate

Sydney had come a long way after the end of the war. The city had been rebuilt to near perfection in the four years since the Prophet of Truth's death on the Ark, and the rest of Earth was slowly recovering as well. It was interesting that people seemed to measure humanity's recovery by how far Sydney's rebuilding had progressed. It seemed humans would never lose their love for their own symbols of power.

In Serin Osman's opinion, she was simply glad the kashkak restaurant down the block was finally back up and running. It felt surprisingly comforting to reconnect to her Turkish heritage.

The head of the Office of Naval Intelligence stood at the window of her personal office on Earth, looking out over the capital of Australia and the center of the UN's power. Although it felt odd to say the organization still had power- since just about the entire human race now looked to Lord Hood as their leader- the legendary admiral still gave them some measure of respectful credit, so Osman thought she might as well do the same.

Even if she would never listen to a word they said to her. The only person she would ever feel bad about using her new position to fool was Hood, and as long as she allowed him to keep his "peace" with the Arbiter intact, she wouldn't have to concern herself with what Hood might think of her actions.

Her thoughts were disrupted as a blue light flashed into being in the air next to her. A fragment of Black Box, the sixth-gen A.I. known to everyone as BB, had been left on Earth to monitor the status there, and it was this fragment Osman would have to work with until she returned to the Infinity.

"Admiral," the fragment said, "the reports from Captain Lasky are in. The Spartan-IVs failed to apprehend her. It's likely she's already back at whatever planet the Storm Covenant has made their base on."

Osman bowed her head, disappointed. While she knew that the capture of such a cunning figure was a daunting task, Captain Palmer and the other members of the _Infinity's_ Spartan-IV contingent had given her hope with their string of successes during the recent action on planet Requiem.

But Catherine Halsey had created the Spartans. Maybe not this current generation, but she still knew their capabilities better than anyone else. It should've been obvious that sending the Spartans after humanity's expert on the super soldiers would end badly.

_We were unprepared and overconfident,_Osman thought, _and I don't intend for that mistake to happen again._

"Tell Lasky to stand down and not pursue the Covenant, BB," Osman ordered the A.I. "And your main fragment should ensure that Kilo-Five does not go after Halsey either. If the IVs couldn't do it, Naomi and two Helljumpers won't be able to either."

The hologram winked out without a word. Obviously, BB had not left any code containing his talkative personality in the fragment.

Serin paced back to her desk and activated a data pad, scrolling through lists and swiping sub-screens aside. She went over her options repeatedly in her head as she searched, and the same conclusion kept resulting.

_Infinity_ would not be able to capture Halsey quickly and effortlessly, not with the doctor safely behind Storm Covenant lines, and the ship was too vital to send on a mission that would cause it such grief. Osman would not be able to send her most powerful weapon after Halsey again.

_And sending Spartans carries its own risk,_ she thought to herself. _Even if they have the highest chances of success, it's all too likely I might just be throwing away our heroes._

That wouldn't do at all. Admiral Parangosky would roll in her grave if Osman got Spartans killed on a capture mission. She needed a different way.

Osman thought back to her words from a few minutes ago, when she ordered Kilo-Five to stand down. Naomi would not be able to take down he woman who made her a Spartan, and Vaz and Mal, the ODSTs of the team, would likely shoot Halsey as soon as they saw her.

Osman could not fault them for that, but as much as she hated it, she needed Halsey alive.

_Wait a minute,_ Osman thought. _ODSTs…_

With rapid strokes of her fingers, Serin brought up several rosters. Lists of all the active Helljumpers in the ODST battalions. An A.I. might have sped the process up, but Osman believed in seeing everything for herself, so that she might take notice of every single detail.

One such detail caught her eye. The name she was looking for.

"BB," Osman said aloud, "signal Commander Dare and get her onscreen ASAP. There's something we need to discuss."

It wasn't long before the massive screen on Osman's wall lit up and Veronica Dare slowly came into focus.

"You wanted to speak to me, Admiral?" Dare asked. The ONI officer stood at attention, utterly focused on the conversation. Most people tended to be overly attentive when speaking with the head of ONI, something Osman suspected had been greatly reinforced by the wrathful Parangosky.

"Commander Dare," Osman said. "I'd like to ask you about a certain Marine I'm looking for. The reports from the Siege of New Mombasa show me that you tasked a group of ODSTs to assist you in a data retrieval mission. Is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Veronica answered. "Sergeant Major Buck, a Gunny Sergeant at the time, and his team. A reliable group."

"So it seems," Osman replied, amused. Veronica Dare rarely praised anyone, although Serin suspected Buck and Dare's recent marriage may have biased her opinion somewhat.

Then again, it was Dare. Serin had watched the woman destroy her enemies both on and off the field. She was more Helljumper than officer, really; criticism came naturally to her. For all Osman knew, Ed Buck was still subject to her scathing attitude no matter what relationship they had.

What Osman really wanted to hear, though, was Dare's opinion on a different Marine.

"I've read a lot of reports about one of the members of that squad. Many of them are rather unique, I have to say."

"Is there something you wanted me to clarify about them, ma'am?" Dare asked, straight to the point as usual.

"Yes. The kill counts recorded in their helmet cams during the engagement raised a lot of flags. 'Hyper-lethal,' as I'm sure you're aware, is a term pretty much reserved for the select few Spartans who manage to inflict massive casualties on the enemy during their operations." Serin raised her data pad, which was displaying the combat record of one ODST in particular.

"An unenhanced human managed to achieve a kill count that rivaled that of hyper-lethal Spartans. A significant chunk of the Covenant army that besieged New Mombasa was wiped out by one man. At least, that's what the reports say." Serin shut off her data pad and leaned forward on her desk, watching Dare intently.

"I don't value recordings and reports as much as the opinions of people I trust. I want to hear it from you, Commander. Just how good was this Helljumper?"

Veronica was silent for a moment, and even on a holoscreen, Osman could tell that her eyes were unfocused. She was clearly revisiting her memories of the battle of New Mombasa- which, Osman assumed, weren't all too pretty.

"The entire crew of a Covenant corvette came after the Engineer when we extracted it from the city," Dare said, her voice low, "and he slaughtered them all. There were barely any left for us." Veronica paused, swallowing. "He was the best I've ever seen."

Osman watched Dare's reaction, and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Are you alright, Commander Dare?"

The admiral's words seemed to snap Veronica out of her reverie. "Yes, ma'am" she replied, her voice steady once more. "It's just… we lost him on the Ark. Or at least, we lost him as a combatant. His arm was removed by a plasma round, and he was permanently taken out of the service. Neither Edward or I have seen him since."

Serin stared at Dare for a second, and then a small grin touched her lips. "That may be the first mistake I have ever heard you utter, Veronica. You never bothered to check what became of him after hostilities ceased?"

Dare seemed taken aback. "I simply assumed…"

"Never assume, Commander. If Parangosky taught me anything, it's that." Osman's grin grew a little. "Maybe we should give you the call sign 'Rookie' instead. God knows it doesn't really fit anyone who made it through that portal and back."

Dare chuckled at the jest. "Perhaps you should, Admiral." A moment later, however, her face grew focused again. "If I might ask, ma'am, what is your goal here? If I understand you correctly, he's fit for duty again, but… there must be more than enough new Spartan-IVs to handle anything that needs doing."

Osman sat down in the chair of her desk again, pressing a button on her keypad. In an instant, the channel they were communicating on was encrypted to the point that only an A.I. with BB's intellect would stand a chance of listening in on the conversation. And BB was one of the few already cleared for this knowledge.

"Lock your door, Commander," Osman said. "There are a few highly classified things you and I have to discuss."

* * *

(_Sorry to anyone who's impatient for action, but there are two more chapters planned before the fighting begins. Bear with me here, and follow if you like this so far!)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Most characters in this story are owned by Bungie, 343, or the authors of the Halo books, particularly Karen Traviss. This is simply me borrowing their characters. _

_Enjoy!_

Back in Black

Commander Dare walked into the gym of UNSC _Two For Flinching, _looking around at the large number of Marines exercising all around her. The ship had dropped from Earth's orbit and landed in Sydney as soon as Admiral Osman had ordered it to receive "inspection."

No one was crazy enough to keep the head of ONI waiting. That was an easy way to be demoted, fired, or worse.

Osman _had _actually shown up to take a tour of the ship, which had quite the record from the Covenant-Human War, but her actions were merely a cover. While the commanding officers were all present for the inspection, Dare had taken off into the ship in search of its ODST contingent.

She should have known most of them would be preparing for a conflict even when they were on stand-down. ODSTs never stopped getting ready to fight.

The thought made her grin. Buck and his team were already preparing for another war as well, even though they had not received any orders yet. Like always, they wanted to be first into the fight, and the Helljumpers were raring to go. Dare couldn't blame them; fighting was what they were best at. Like the Spartans, but without the whole physical and emotional package that came with being one of the super soldiers.

These thoughts carried Dare across the gym, until she found herself in front of a series of weight machines that made the user lift a big stack of weights while alternating between arms.

Or, in the case of the only Marine using the machines, it forced him to use his only arm twice as much.

The man's back was to Dare, so he didn't notice her observing his workout. He wore a grey, sweat-soaked muscle shirt with the Helljumper logo on the back, and it rippled as he struggled to lift two hundred pounds of iron. His left arm was well-muscled, and the stump of the other, ending about halfway down the upper arm, was surprisingly fit as well. She could see the metal plate and receiving dock for a prosthetic embedded in the stump. The ODST's salt-and-pepper hair glistened, indicating that he had been working out for a while now.

Dare watched for a moment as the man continued to rhythmically lift the iron stack, and then she spoke up, raising her voice so that she could be heard over the clamor of the gym.

"Marcus?" she asked, waiting for him to turn.

The Helljumper did not respond, simply continuing to lift the weights.

"Marcus!" Dare said again, but he still didn't turn or speak. _Oh, for the love of God…_ Dare thought.

"Rookie!"

The stack of iron weights clanked to the ground and stayed there.

The man straightened, breathing hard, and turned to face her. His face, etched with scars from the helmet visor that had shattered on the Ark, seemed so much different than when she had first met him in New Mombasa. The drawn cheeks and crooked, thrice-broken nose were both unfamiliar to her.

But those green eyes- the eyes of a killer- _those_ had not changed.

Recognition flashed across the Helljumper's face. "Captain Dare?" he muttered, sounding uncertain. "The hell… thought you ONI guys were supposed to be inspecting the rest of the ship."

"It's Commander Dare now, Marcus. And did you really believe there was a legitimate inspection going on with the Helljumpers left out of it?" Dare smirked at him. "Admiral Osman's putting on a show so you can be slipped off this tub in secret."

"Dammit. Should've known it'd be something like this…" The Helljumper grabbed a towel from a bench near him, wiping his face off as he walked over to a set of lockers near the gym's entrance, where several other ODSTs who had finished their workouts were lounging.

"Sean!" the Rookie called, "Hit me up, would ya? I gotta leave!"

One of the Helljumpers turned. An African-American with piercing grey eyes, he bore a massive scar across his bare chest, evidence that he had encountered an energy sword once and narrowly survived. He grabbed a set of standard UNSC civvies out of a locker and tossed them to Marcus, who deftly caught them one-handed.

"Who's this, dude?" the Helljumper named Sean asked. "Someone you forgot to mention?" His sly tone of voice and its indication did not escape Dare, who raised an eyebrow, but marcus spoke before her.

"That happens to be Veronica Dare, Sean," Marcus replied. "She's a Commander now, apparently; might want to start saluting soon." The Rookie turned and walked to the gym's exit. "I'm grabbing a shower and I'll be out in five. Hope you can go that long without court-martialing anyone, Dare."

Veronica watched him leave the gym before turning to the other ODST, Sean. "You. Sean Lusher? Formally of the 3rd battalion?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "You need any… special services from me?"

Veronica glowered at him. "Yeah, I do. You're going with him. Prepare to depart the ship; you have until Marcus is ready."

Sean frowned for a second, then sighed and moved past her to the gym exit. "Whatever, ONI lady," he grumbled. "Hope you've got something exciting planned for us."

Veronica considered dropping the hammer on the ODST for his disrespectful behavior, but decided to let it slide. There was not time for her to start disputes. Turning to the other Helljumpers in the gym, she raised her voice and said, "No one finds out they left this ship. Any leaks can and will be traced back to all of you. Understand?"

The ODSTs all chorused together, "Yes ma'am." There was sincerity in their voices- the sincerity of someone who knew what ONI was capable of doing to those who ruined their plans.

Satisfied, Dare turned and left the gym, heading for the bridge. Admiral Osman would deal with the rest once the "tour" was completed.

* * *

"You're both going outside UNSC space," Serin told the two men standing at attention in front of her. "You'll be cut off, the Storm Covenant will have a heavy presence in the sector, and there will be no back-up waiting to save you. You'll have one extraction craft hidden for you, and if it's destroyed, you're on your own. And you'll have one week." Osman sat back in her chair, watching for their reactions. "Any questions, you two?"

Marcus and Sean both stood there for a second, absorbing her words, and then Sean spoke up. "You couldn't have told the Covies we're coming, at least? This is gonna be boring as hell."

A chuckle burst from Osman's lips before she could force it down. "As much as you might enjoy that, Marine, I need this mission to succeed. I'd rather not start it off by compromising your chances of a stealthy insertion."

"You'll have a fragment of BB, my personal A.I., to accompany you. He's more than capable of handling himself in combat; frankly, I think you'll find he can actually offer some advantages for you. And I sincerely believe you'll need all the advantages you can get. He'll brief you about your full set of objectives once you reach your destination."

Sean laughed with only a little humor. "Can't tell us the specifics beforehand, huh? Typical ONI, man…"

Marcus looked at her, his brow furrowed in confusion. His prosthetic right arm, now attached, reached up to scratch at the stubble on his chin. "Ma'am, you said we'd be cut off from UNSC forces."

"I did."

"So how will the A.I. accompany us? The only combat gear that can handle even a fragment of a smart A.I. are those NAV chip things, and our armor doesn't have docks for those."

Osman looked at him, impressed by his technical know-how. She suspected he would _love _her next surprise. "Your old armor doesn't," she said, "but you won't be using that. Follow me, gentlemen." She rose from her desk and walked into the hallway with the ODSTs a few steps behind her, turning towards the elevator that led to the basement.

A short trip later, they found themselves outside a locked door with two Marines standing guard outside it. Both immediately saluted upon seeing Osman's rank, and one stepped smartly aside to plug in a password in the door's keypad, opening it. Osman led the Helljumpers into an experimental weapons development lab, where dozens of models of UNSC hardware hung from walls or lay on tables, with technicians poring over them and making modifications. The constant buzzing of drills and assembly bots filled the air.

"I believe they're being kept in the back," Osman said, "right about…" She turned a corner in the lab, several techies stepping aside and saluting, and came to a halt in front of a wide wall from which hung several suits of armor.

Behind her, Osman heard Marcus suck in a breath, and Sean murmured, "Jesus…" in a low voice.

The black armor could easily be mistaken as a MJOLNIR suit if Osman didn't already know Spartan armor on sight. What hung in front of them were actually hybrids of standard ODST armor and MJOLNIR armor; a blend of advanced machinery and the old-fashioned, trustworthy Helljumper suit. Plates of A-grade titanium covered all vital areas, straps of ultra-thick gel layers held the pieces together, and- best of all, in the Rookie's opinion- silver ODST visors still filled the front of the helmets, which did indeed have NAV chip docks on the back.

"Admiral…" Marcus said hesitantly, "what are these things?"

"Combat Support Systems, Helljumper Variety," Osman replied. "I personally ordered this project to be boosted to the front of the ONI budget. They give you the protection and some of the enhancements of MJOLNIR armor, and the weight is handled by the suits' own miniature anti-grav systems. No energy shields like the Spartans have; however, I think you are more than competent enough fighting that way."

"Yes, ma'am, yes we are," Sean said, looking at the suits in awe. He ran a hand down the arm of run suit, then turned and looked at the Admiral. "Permission to suit up and give them a test run, Admiral?"

Osman had to struggle to contain her grin. They were like children receiving Christmas presents. "Granted. Meet me back in my office once you are finished." She turned to the chief technician in the lab and raised her voice over the loud sounds of machinery. "Petty Officer! Assist these two with the CSSHVs, and make sure they get models that have been de-bugged!"

The admiral walked out of the lab without bothering to catch a reply. She had one more thing to do in private before the ODSTs rejoined her.

* * *

Just as Serin finished giving BB his orders, a series of loud thuds began to approach her office. She watched as one ton of ODSTs and armor walked through the door, their boots striking the floor heavily.

Both men had donned their helmets, presenting the look of Helljumpers prepared for a combat drop. Osman knew the project had been a brilliant idea; the Marines looked absolutely lethal in the suits.

"Satisfied?" Osman quipped. The Rookie, identifiable by the small signiture he had- _Already? Really? _Osman thought- scratched onto the top arm plate, replied, "Hell yes." He caught himself and quickly added, "Ma'am. Sorry, admiral, but-"

"Yes, yes, the suits are superb to use, from what I've heard," Osman cut him off, waving a hand through the air. "You're going to get experienced with fighting in them very soon, I should think."

"_Infinity _will slip into orbit within the hour. A Pelican has been prepared to take both of you up to meet it, and the ship will drop you off at your insertion point within three days. It will be a _very _quick stop; I suggest you try not to delay Captain Lasky at all. That ship has a full schedule in the weeks ahead."

"Yes, ma'am," the two Helljumpers chorused.

"Staff Sergeant Lusher, you're dismissed. Marcus, a word please" Osman said. Sean turned and exited the room, leaving Marcus to fix his visor on the ONI leader.

"Rookie," Osman said, calling him by his adamantly-held call sign for the first time, "what you're about to do is vital for ensuring the security of Earth. I wish you could be briefed ahead of time, but even the existence of a rumor about your task must be prevented. I can and will tell you this, though." She leaned forward, staring right at the sliver visor. "You will _not _back out of this mission, no matter how dangerous it may become. Even if Lusher falls, you must press forward and do this for the UNSC. Even if death becomes a certainty." She paused, watching him. "Even if it becomes a personal crisis. You _will _complete this mission. That is an order."

The Rookie did not speak for a moment.

"Depend on it, ma'am," he finally said, and left the office.

Osman prayed he could follow that order all the way through.

The cost of the alternative was too much to think about.

"BB, is your core function finished preparing the fragments onboard _Infinity_?" Osman spoke into the silent office.

"Affirmative, Admiral," the A.I. replied. "All preparations are made to begin the operation."

"Good," Osman murmured, leaning back in the large chair and closing her eyes.

_Godspeed, Helljumpers, _she thought. _And good hunting. _

* * *

_(More on the way. I'm going as quickly as I can while writing two stories at once. A little bit of character development and back-story to go, and the action will finally kick off!) _


	3. Chapter 3

_Most characters in this story are owned by Bungie, 343, or the authors of the Halo books, particularly Karen Traviss. This is simply me borrowing their characters. _

_Enjoy!_

BFS 17000

"It's just a lot to wrap your head around, you know?" Sean said as they gazed out of the Pelican's window. "Six clicks. Are you even registering that yet?"

"Not really," Rookie replied. "I admit, it seems pretty freaking hard to think about."

"Well, yeah, I mean… Jesus, six _clicks_. How the hell did they build this thing?"

The ODSTs were standing in the cockpit of a Pelican that had launched from Sydney's own spaceport. The transport had taken them into orbit, which had confused Marcus and Sean at first. They had assumed they would simply board _Infinity _once it landed somewhere on Earth.

Upon seeing the vessel for the first time, though, it finally registered with them why that scenario wouldn't exactly be possible.

The gargantuan warship hung in Earth's orbit, obscuring a large portion of the planet below from the Helljumpers' sight. The lights that ran along its edge made it look like a massive cluster of stars from afar, but when they had closed the gap and were only a dozen or so kilometers away, the full size of the ship had really hit them. Both Helljumpers had seen Covenant capital ships up close and personal before, but those behemoths had nothing on the massive ship that glided through the inky blackness ahead of them. There was no spaceport in existence that could hold something like that.

"It was a bit of a shock for my team, the first time we saw it," the Pelican's pilot said to them. She was busy preparing the dropship's systems for a docking routine, but she hardly seemed to pay attention to her own actions- evidence of her vast experience in the cockpit of a Pelican. "Of course, now it's simply become home. For us and 17,000 others."

Sean whistled. "One hell of a crew. They pack enough Sweet Williams onboard for everyone?" He was all-too-obviously taking a crack at the open box of the renowned cigars that sat near the pilots left arm.

"Very funny, pal. And yes, they do have a decent supply. _Infinity_ is really more of a floating city then a warship." She started to power down the thrusters as the Pelican closed in on a hangar set into the side of the massive ship, which now filled the entire view screen of the dropship. "Well, a city with the power to annihilate a small planet. The Covies are learning very quickly not to mess with this thing."

Deftly, the pilot maneuvered the Pelican through the hangar door, shutting down the thrusters and bringing the dropship to a rest on a transportation rail. She hit a release on her dashboard and the ramp lowered.

"Hope you enjoyed your ride, boys. Now get going, you've apparently got a tight schedule today."

Sean smirked under his helmet. "What, you're kicking us out without even a name? I was hoping to set up a date."

The pilot snorted. "As if you'd be so lucky, Marine. Outta my ship. Now." Sean chuckled and sauntered out of the Pelican, followed by a thoroughly amused Rookie. Behind them, the pilot sighed, then swiveled in her seat.

"It's Dev," she called after them, freezing Sean in his tracks. "Lian Deveraux. Assuming we don't pick your guys' corpses up in a few weeks, look me up some time. I do coffee breaks on Mondays."

Sean was about to reply, but the ramp closed in his face and the Pelican was whisked away on the track, blending into the large number of ships crowding the massive hangar.

"I think she likes me, bro," Sean said. "I'm gonna take her up on that offer."

"Get over yourself, man. She's ribbing you, that wasn't a real offer." Marcus walked towards the main doors of the hangar, where an NCO standing next to a trolley was watching them, arms folded in impatience. "We _were _told to hustle, so let's get a move on. I want to know what they're sending us to do right away."

"What do you think they've got us here to do? Hunt down some hinge-head big shot that's taking over for the Prophets? Or maybe finding more of this 'Forerunner' shit all the geeks are freaking out about nowadayd…"

"Doesn't matter. We go where they order us." In his mind, though, the Rookie was already forming a suspicion about what Osman had sent them to do. Her final warning to him had been vague, but he still wondered if she really had been saying what he thought she was.

"Staff Sergeant," the NCO at the trolley saluted as they approached. "Gunnery Sergeant. I have orders to take you two to the bridge."

"Well, get driving, squid," Sean said, hopping onto the back of the trolley, the vehicle bouncing a little due to the weight of his powerful armor. "We wouldn't want to be late for our date with almighty Captain Lasky."

"Sean…" Marcus said wearily, sitting down next to his friend. The guy was _always _like this. Thank God he had held his tongue in front of Admiral Osman.

"What? He's Navy, the guy's used to it."

The NCO shook his head, muttering, "Helljumpers…" The trolley buzzed to life and, within minutes, the ODSTs were deep in the heart of _Infinity_.

* * *

"Captain," a bridge orderly reported, "the two-man team sent by Osman has arrived. They're nearing the bridge now."

Thomas Lasky looked up from a monitor he was sitting in front of, reading over the status of Earth's orbital defenses. The Didact's recent assault had thrown Earth back into the days of the war with the Covenant, with everyone on edge, waiting for the enemy to slip into orbit and begin sowing death and chaos once more.

_Infinity _was supposed to have prevented that from ever happening again. Instead, thousands of people had lost their lives when the Composer had fired, and the scars of the war, still fresh even after four years, were torn wide open once again.

And now Halsey was aiding the enemy…

Lasky's thoughts were jarred as the orderly addressed him again. "Sir? You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I… it's nothing." Lasky stood, closing down the monitor and heading across the bridge to the main doors. "Carry on, sailor."

The orderly saluted and moved off to carry out his regular duties, leaving Lasky to walk over and stand by the doors, waiting for the ODSTs. Even with the crew back up to full strength, the ship was a madhouse as preparations for _Infinity's _next deployment went on. Lasky would have to brief the Helljumpers by himself.

He preferred it that way, though. Thomas wanted to personally judge these Helljumpers while they learned of their mission.

He wanted to know if he was carrying them to their deaths.

The door lights blinked and the entrance slid open, revealing the ODSTs waiting on the other side. The trolley driver had already departed, but Lasky could see from the man's tense posture that he was thoroughly annoyed. He had probably been razzed by the ODSTs all the way to the bridge. _Helljumpers _are _tough to get along with, _Lasky thought as he held out his hand for the two men to shake. _I'll have to give that guy leave sometime._

"Welcome aboard _Infinity, _you two," Lasky said as they saluted and then shook. "I see that little project of ONI's worked out in time for you." He looked over the armor both men wore, nodding in approval at what he saw. "The Spartans would be impressed if they saw what the entire ODST force will look like in just a few years. And God knows the Spartans aren't impressed much by us normal guys."

Marcus smiled behind his visor. Osman hadn't lied when she said Lasky was the kind of captain that could earn the total loyalty and admiration of his crew. The guy was just really good with people. It was that simple. "We're not here to show off for the 'roid-rockers, sir" the Rookie said, using the term many ODSTs referred to Spartans with. "We were told by Admiral Osman that you would have the details of our task for us. Mind briefing us in?"

"And do we get a tour afterward?" Sean broke in, humor in his voice. "Or do we not have a month or two to spare?"

Lasky laughed at the well-worded question. "Yeah, no. We don't have time for a tour. It _would _take many days to see everything on this big freaking ship- days that you two will not spending on board. As for your task, we should discuss the matter in private." Turning to the crew members on the bridge, Lasky called out, "Everyone, clear the bridge for a few minutes. I want total communications shut down in here, Roland. Hop to it."

The bridge crew rose immediately and filed out, and above the central projector on the bridge, the blue image of a World War 2 bomber pilot flashed into being. Without a word, the A.I. waved a hand through the air in front of it, then turned and said, "All comms equipment disabled, captain. The bridge is-"

Before Roland could finish, a second blue light flashed next to him. A slowly spinning cube, streams of numbers flashing across its surface, winked into existence, and a voice came from the projector's speaker.

"You know, it's fairly rude to just lock someone out of a conversation without telling them first," the new A.I. said, his voice filled with sarcasm. "A polite person would notify their colleague that their presence isn't required. And, perhaps, that person should _check _to see if their colleague is needed for the discussion." Marcus and Sean both stared at the floating box; no A.I. they had ever encountered had sounded so… _human_. It was unnerving.

Roland's hologram stiffened with indignation. "I was not notified that you have clearance for the captain's meeting with Admiral Osman's-"

"Um, hello, I'm the one briefing them!" The box flashed briefly and spun 360 degrees, coming back around with a frown face plastered on the side like a logo. "I also happen to be sending a rather large fragment on their mission with them, so I'd liketo _personally_ meet the guys who I'm entrusting with my own well-being. And that's rather difficult if you're throwing up firewalls that I have to take a few seconds to jump over."

Roland sniffed in displeasure, then winked out without another word, leaving the three humans standing in the light of just the spinning holographic box.

The Rookie watched the hologram warily. "Um, are you that Black Box thing Osman told us about?"

"I actually go by BB, but yeah, I'm Osman's A.I.," the box replied. "I'm just a passenger on this ship right now, and once I've transferred my fragment to you guys, I'll be heading out again with another team that I frequently work with. You would not believe how nice it is to spend time away from all these stuffy, prideful fifth-gen A.I.s."

Lasky chuckled at B.B.s words. "Roland just hates sharing space with others, B.B. Having you keeping an eye on everything makes him anxious."

"Wait, back up," Sean said. "You say fifth-gen like you're not one. Gen 5 was the last type of A.I.s ever made."

"Made by humans," BB corrected him. "I was made by other A.I.s. It was a bit of a revolutionary process, if I may." He sounded subtly smug about that fact, which confirmed Marcus' thoughts about the A.I. The thing really was designed to be more human-like than any other machine before it.

He wondered how it could hold up in a combat scenario.

"Anyway, enough about me," BB said. "Let's move on to the subject at hand- the mission you two were tasked with. Time is short, and Osman has always hated delays, so I'll get straight to the point."

The holographic display lit up again, bringing up an image of an elderly woman in a white coat, likely in her early 60s, her auburn hair streaked with gray. The image rotated at the same speed as BBs cube.

"Catherine Halsey has defected to the Storm Covenant, aided by a renegade Elite leader," BB began, bringing up another image- a huge Elite in black armor. "His name's Jul 'Mdama, but he's not the primary objective. You two are being sent to locate Halsey and return her to UNSC custody- or failing that, eliminate her to remove any possibility of her giving our enemies an edge on us."

Sean sucked in a breath, his helmet turning towards the Rookie. Marcus had frozen solid, not a muscle moving. Lasky could see the blank shock on his face through the ODSTs open visor.

"Gunnery Sergeant?" Thomas asked, concerned. "You alright there?"

Marcus was silent for a long moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was low with some indiscernible emotion. "Do we have permission to eliminate the other subject? The 'Mdama guy?" He was clearly trying to avoid the subject of Halsey.

BB flashed a thumbs-up on the side of his cube, clearly not picking up on the tension emanating from the Rookie. "This is an unrestrained operation for you guys. No limitations, no orders, no secrets, and no chance of a court-martial at the end." A hint of amusement entered the A.I.'s voice. "I imagine that'd be a welcome change for every Helljumper ever."

Marcus nodded slowly, still holding himself unnaturally still. "Yeah. Yeah, that would be a good change."

"Marcus, man…" Sean said softly, still looking at his friend. For a second, Lasky almost thought he heard _pity _in the guy's voice, but that couldn't be- Helljumpers didn't do pity. There was no room for it in the 105th. Thomas didn't understand what was going on for the Helljumpers, but he knew it had to be addressed.

"Is there a problem with the mission that I should be aware of, Sergeant?" he asked, watching the Rookie carefully. "Or will you be able to carry out your duties without issue?"

Marcus turned to the captain, his expression now carefully free of any emotion. "No problem here, sir. When are we deploying?"

"Three days," Lasky answered. "You'll get a couple days of rest before arming up and heading out. I'm sorry, but you two will have to stay under wraps during your stay on board the ship; your arrival was timed so that only small number of crew saw you, and we're going to keep that number small. There can't be any leaks about this op. For all we know, Halsey may have already found a way to glean info from human networks without being detected."

Lasky turned to the hologram display, waving a hand at BB. The image of a large, predominantly brown planet took shape in the air, rotating diagonally on its axis.

"The system you'll be deploying on, a fallen colony called Septra Qui, has been monitored for a while now; we've discerned a small window of time for _Infinity _to get in and drop you two off without being detected, and that's what we're aiming for- a clean, stealth-only approach." Lasky looked at the two, a touch of dark humor on his face. "I don't care if you two really are worth half a brigade by yourselves. Enemy forces on the world are substantial, and a direct assault is certain to fail. That means _no _bloody rampages while you're there. I don't want another force to have to go in and pull your corpses out of a lake of Covie blood."

"Duly noted," Sean said, still appearing a tad shaken. "We sure as hell aren't going in unarmed, though. You have weapons for us?"

Thomas smirked at the Helljumper's eagerness to have a gun in his hands. "You'll get them the day off your drop. For now, you guys will be guided by BB to your temporary quarters. We'll speak again when we're about to drop into the system."

"Sir." Both Helljumpers saluted, realizing they were being dismissed. They departed from the bridge, BB's voice telling them where to go, and the bridge crew filed back in to resume their jobs.

Still wondering what secret the Rookie had that Osman had not informed him of, Lasky gave the order for _Infinity_ tojump, and the huge ship slipped back into the dark oblivion of Slipspace.

* * *

"Are you really serious about going through with this, Marcus?" Sean asked, watching his long-time friend cautiously. The Rookie had sat down in a chair as soon as they arrived at the quarters provided for them, and he had not moved in the half hour since. Sean had remained silent for a while, understanding what was going through the guy's head, but he couldn't let the issue just sit between them forever.

"You could just ask them to send someone else. There's gotta be some other wicked skilled bastard in the 105th who can do this job. It doesn't have to be you…"

"No. It does." The Rookie turned in the chair to look at his friend, whatever emotion he felt now hidden by a closed visor. "They sent me because they believe I'm the only one who can even get close to Halsey. No one else stands a chance out there, at least in ONI's opinion."

"Halsey never even met the Spartan-IVs, though. Why would sending those guys be such a big deal? This whole op is turning out to be a steaming pile, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you, Sean. We're going to Septra Qui, and we're getting the job done. That's it. No complaints, no second thoughts. You got it?" Normally, Marcus would refrain from speaking to Sean in such a way, out of respect for his friend's higher rank. But the turbulent emotions running through him had released him of any restraint he had, and now Marcus had only one wish- to get the mission over and done with as quickly as possible.

He wasn't going to be able to sleep again until he had.

Sean gazed at him with concern for a moment longer, then turned and headed to his bunk, clearly eager to just get some rest, if only for a short time.

"Sean," Marcus said suddenly, halting his friend. "From now on, we go by call signs only."

"What?" Sean asked in surprise.

"Reaper and Rookie. That's what we've always been, and that's what we are from now until the mission's end." Rookie shifted on the chair, his eyes dark. "I don't need the constant reminder of what I'm about to do. So until this op is completed, we are Helljumpers and nothing more." He glared at Sean to drive the point home. "You read me, Reaper?"

Sean met his eyes without backing down. "I got ya, Rookie. Now get some sleep. I doubt we'll have any shut eye once we hit dirt." He continued into his own room, shutting the door and falling onto his bunk with a distinct _thump_.

The Rookie, however, never shut his eyes for a second. He gazed out the compartment's window into the inky blackness of Slipspace for many hours, sitting in the same spot without moving hardly at all.

He spent the next three days doing the exact same thing.

* * *

_(What great conflict has shaken the Rookie? The answer will have to wait, because the action of this story is about to begin. To every Halo 3: ODST fan out there, the most badass Marine in history is finally going to fight once more.)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Last chapter before the fighting starts!_

_Most characters in this story are owned by Bungie, 343, or the authors of the Halo books, particularly Karen Traviss. This is simply me borrowing their characters. _

_Enjoy!_

Feet First Into Hell and Back Again (Hopefully)

The Rookie stood in front of his Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle, staring at the single seat within as memories flooded through his mind.

_Flames building on the outside of the pod, blinding him even through his closed visor. Plasma tearing into the ship above him even as it continued to drop Helljumpers from its bays. Jarring thuds as explosions rocked the air all around, the blasts consuming other ODSTs before they could even reach the ground. A lingering scream resounding over his comm channel, the noise of a drop pod being rent apart in the background. Bursting out of his SOEIV, rifle raised, staring at the Elite charging towards him with sword in hand…_

_A Covenant ship entering Slipspace above a burning city, the shockwave hammering the planet and knocking drop pods out of the sky like flies, one pod hurtling straight at his with no chance to escape-_

"Rookie!" he heard Reaper call from the other side of the drop bay. "Quit spacing off, bro! We've got 3 minutes to ready up!" Reaper was loading his personal, custom painted shotgun into the SOEIV he would use, along with a pair of M7 sub machine guns and a battle rifle. His voice cut through the torrent of memories, making Rookie shake his head and continue loading his own pod. He placed a SPNKr rocket launcher and a standard magnum sidearm into the weapon racks within. His trusty MA5 would ride in his lap all the way down.

Weapons in SOEIVs had an unfortunate history of being damaged by the rough impact of landing. And Rookie would _not _risk his assault rifle being taken out of the fight. If he only used one weapon during this mission, it would be this one.

BB's voice sounded in Rookie's ear, the A.I.'s fragment now safely stored in a data chip within the CSSHV's helmet. "I have to admit, I'm a little excited. I never had the chance to actually do one of these Helljumper drops before. ONI life can be a little sheltered at times." The A.I. really did sound almost giddy with anticipation.

Marcus paused in the act of stepping into his SOEIV. "You actually get excited at the prospect of a drop? That's sort of abnormal, you know."

"Well, unlike you, it's not like I'm risking my _entire _existence on the hope that this pod reaches the ground. And I'll be honest with you- one of the best days of my life was when I got to take a ride inside a Spartan's head." BB sounded like he was still in awe of that fact. "There is truly nothing like speeding along in a half-ton war machine, watching through their own eyes as they kick alien ass and take names."

"Yeah, whatever," Rookie muttered. He wasn't interested in hearing about the fantastic exploits of humanity's favorite 'heroes'. He ignored the A.I. as it rambled on and sat down in the seat of his pod, hitting the big lever on his right to seal the hatch.

"Reaper, you ready to go, buddy?" Rookie asked over his comms, cutting off BB. In the pod across the drop bay, Reaper grunted and muttered, "Ready as I'll ever be. We probably should have done a couple practice drops during our down time on Earth…"

Captain Lasky's voice cut over both of theirs, the sounds of a bridge preparing to exit Slipspace creating a lot of background noise in his comms. "Helljumpers, we're slipping back to normal space in 20 seconds. Are you both all set to drop?"

"Affirmative, sir," the Rookie replied. "Everything's prepped. Just make sure not to drop us in the middle of the ocean or anything."

A laugh sounded over the channel. "Will do, Marine. Exiting Slipspace in four, three, two…"

Rookie felt a slight sensation of nausea- nothing more, which surprised him- and then the noise of the ship's bridge springing into action filled his ear.

"Position- 26 kilometers above Septra Qui!" he heard someone shouting. "Drop location nominal! ODSTs are go!"

"Godspeed, Marines," Lasky said over the comms. "Drop bay release activated!"

Rookie heard a series of thumps, the sounds of other pods being dropped from the ship, and then he heard the _whoosh _of the launchers in his bay.

_Here we go, _was the only thing he had time to think.

The SOEIV launched.

He hurtled downward, out of the ship and into open space. Around his SOEIV, half a dozen other drop pods were falling to the planet, while the same time, a cluster of grapefruit-sized satellites were being deployed into Septra Qui's orbit, and the Black Cat exfil craft they would need to get off-planet was spiraling down to the surface, guided by the auto-pilot and hidden by its cloaking system. It would stay that way until they were ready to leave.

Rookie looked out of the shaking viewport of the pod and saw the _Infinity _already generating a Slipspace hole around itself. Within moments after dropping off all the assets for the mission, the massive ship transitioned back into Slipspace and was gone before any potential hostiles in the area would have any chance to detect it.

They were on their own.

Rookie scanned the space around his pod, seeing the other SOEIVs hurtling towards the planet below, flames building on their outsides. Besides the pods that the two Helljumpers were riding in, several other pods filled with weapons and supplies were being dropped as caches for the two to use once they hit dirt. There was even a pair of Mongeese being dropped- if whatever installation Halsey was at happened to be far away from the drop zone, the ODSTs would definitely need the small vehicles as transport.

"How you doing over there, Rookie?" he heard Reaper ask over the comms. The voice was shaking, the roar of their descent filling the channel, but the words were still legible. "Your pod holding together?"

"Yeah. How's yours?"

"It hasn't exploded or shattered yet, and we're almost through the stratosphere. Once we're done with the lower atmosphere, we should be good to go." Reaper sounded perfectly calm, despite his earlier misgivings about the drop. The Helljumper was entering that cool, utterly collected zone that Rookie had seen him in time and time again during their missions together.

It was that mental focus that had tipped Rookie off long ago that he had found a partner he could finally count on to not go dying on him.

A sudden massive increase in the shaking of the SOEIV drew Rookie's attention to his own situation. They had hit the lower atmosphere, and now the pod was being violently thrown around by the turbulence of re-entry. BB whooped in his ear, clearly enjoying the crazy ride to no end. Rookie almost chuckled at that; he had never seen an A.I. truly enjoy the things humans did before.

Fire was cooking the outside of the pod as if it was being bathed with a flamethrower, but the heat did not reach Rookie. He suspected the new armor was partly responsible for that, and once again he whispered thanks to Admiral Osman for the gift.

He couldn't wait to see the entire 105th outfitted with the awesome suits.

"30 seconds to impact," BB suddenly warned him. The A.I. had abruptly stopped yelling with excitement and was now processing the data of the SOEIV's descent, making sure that there were no emergencies to deal with. "Deploying parachute in three, two…"

Rookie hadn't even had a chance to reach for the parachute's manual release lever. Having an A.I. along for the mission really _did _have its advantages.

The parachute opened above him, and Rookie's stomach flipped as he was jerked upward by the sudden deceleration. Parachutes were opening all around him, and he fervently hoped that there was no Covenant nearby witnessing their descent. He was starting to get a good picture of the terrain they were falling towards from what he could see though his viewport, and most of the land he could see looked relatively barren.

Stealth was not going to be much of an option out here. If they were found, they would have to fight, regardless of what Osman or Lasky wanted.

"Firing rockets," BB declared. The deceleration increased even more as the SOEIV's thrusters now activated, making the Rookie feel as if he were about to be pancaked against the roof of his pod. There was a great deal more of violent shuddering, and then a massive bang sounded and he was jolted in his seat.

"Safe landing confirmed," BB said. "Welcome to Septra Qui, Helljumper. I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did."

Too disoriented to respond, Rookie shook his head in an attempt to clear it and banged his fist against the hatch release. The SOEIV's door popped open, and sunlight poured into the cockpit of the pod.

Rookie increased the polarization of his visor and pulled himself out of the pod with one hand, his grip tight on his rifle as he took a shaky first step onto the world of Septra Qui.

Two suns hung in the sky above him, one starting to set and the other still high in the middle of the sky. There were no clouds or signs of plant life to be seen; it was obvious that this area of the planet had no water cycle, if there was one anywhere on the world to begin with. Coarse, grayish dirt crunched under the boots of the heavy CSSHV that Rookie wore, and he left deep footprints behind him as he walked around a few paces, trying to shake off the effects of the drop.

_Footprints, _Rookie thought. _One more way to track us. We'll have to move fast here to avoid being caught. _

"BB, how bad was the dispersion of the pods?" he asked, trying to get his bearings regarding the rest of the dropped SOEIVs. He could only see one from where he stood; the rest were hidden behind the crests and ledges of the multiple small hills that lay throughout the area.

The A.I. was silent for a second, no doubt locating each and every pod, and then he replied, "The furthest pod fell approximately 4.7 kilometers from here. The rest are spread out along that distance."

The Rookie whistled in appreciation. "Not bad." For a drop of half a dozen pods, landing them all within five clicks of each other was an impressive feat. "That _Infinity _really is something. I wouldn't mind being posted on board just for the hell of it."

"Indeed." BB sounded smug, like he was enjoying the Helljumper's critique. "The ship is very good at these kinds of things, especially with someone like me to help out. I'm honestly very good at everything, especially military operations. I think Lasky wishes I was _Infinity's _A.I., instead of the Roland guy."

"You're full of yourself," Rookie muttered. He turned back to his SOEIV and reached inside, grabbing the rocket launcher and magnum within. He attached both the weapons to the ports on the armor that he had been shown in Sydney, and he hefted his assault rifle in his hands and started walking. "Highlight Reaper's pod on my HUD. Also, where is the closer of those two pods that had Mongeese in them?"

"Actually, that pod right across the way had a Mongoose in it. Reaper is about two and a half clicks from here. We really should avoid breaking radio silence, so I suggest you start…"

Rookie didn't even bother listening to the rest of the A.I.'s sentence. He started jogging towards the second SOEIV in the distance, keeping his rifle at the ready and looking around for any signs of Covenant.

They were in hostile territory now. And he would _not _let his guard down for even a second.

* * *

Reaper stretched his back, looking up at the twin suns in the greenish-blue sky as his spine arched. The impact had been a bit rough, and he was still sore all over from the landing that had knocked him all over the inside of his SOEIV. Nevertheless, he was alive and not seriously injured, and so the Helljumper grabbed his shotgun, secured his other weapons, and walked over to the pod that had landed not fifty yards from his, shaking his leg a little to get some feeling back into it.

A few quick jabs on the pod's door panel opened up the hatch, allowing him to peer inside. It was one of the weapon caches that had dropped with them; a sniper rifle and two DMRs lay on the racks inside. The DMRs looked banged up from the drop, and he already had his battle rifle anyway, but the weapons all used the same ammunition, and so Reaper reached in and grabbed the spare magazines, storing them in the pockets on his armor. He also took the sniper rifle, slinging it across his back next to his BR. Making sure all the weapons were safed and secured, he left the pod behind him, heading in the general direction of another SOEIV he had seen drop nearby, wondering if it had been Rookie's.

_Damn, this armor is cool, _Reaper thought. _I feel like a walking arsenal now. _

Before he could reach the next drop pod, the Helljumper heard a low growling noise that was growing louder by the second. He shifted his shotgun in his arms, watching intently for any Covenant aircraft, but a second later he recognized the sound- a Mongoose engine.

The Rookie appeared over one of the low-lying hills off to his left, gunning the engine of the quad bike and heading straight for his location. Reaper stopped where he was and waited as his friend finally reached his location and cut the engine, jumping off the vehicle before it stopped rolling.

"Hey, man," Reaper greeted him nonchalantly, making sure to keep his comms offline. "You enjoy your first drop in too damn long as well?"

Rookie shrugged. "It wasn't too bad. At least they dropped us close enough together that we didn't have to spend a whole day trying to link up." Reaper could see Rookie's weapons had survived the drop, and his fellow ODST seemed to have picked up a battle rifle of his own from one of the SOEIVs. Together, the two men had enough weaponry for about five people, although Reaper knew they were trying to get through the mission without having to use much of it.

Leaning forward, Reaper muttered, "Did your arm get roughed up at all?" Rookie didn't have to ask which one he meant; he rotated the prosthetic appendage of steel and wires that was all that kept him in active duty and nodded in approval. "It's good to go. Let's not waste any more time out here." Rookie tapped his helmet with a gauntlet-clad fist, ordering, "BB, point us in the direction of the nearest Covie structures you can find. We'll start our search there." He walked back over to the Mongoose, getting back on and starting the engine as Reaper stepped onto the small platform on the bike's rear.

Their HUDs both started streaming information as BB began using the mini-satellites launched by _Infinity _to relay images from across the planet to the insides of their helmets. In seconds, several Covenant structures were outlined on the ODSTs' display screens, with the distances to each one and the estimated numbers of hostiles present highlighted next to the images.

"Here," Rookie said. "This square looking thing, about 8 clicks north of here." The base looked small, and very few Covenant could be seen patrolling on or around it. A simple, straightforward target. "We'll take out the enemies here without raising the alarm, and we'll glean what information we can from their systems." He paused for a second, wondering about the last statement. "You _can _hack Covenant computers, I'm assuming?" he asked BB.

The A.I. scoffed. "Please. Easy pickings, all of it. We'll find out what we need to without any hassle at all."

Reaper nodded in agreement. "It's a good plan. We can swing around and check out the other places afterwards." He smiled within his helmet, eager to finally start shooting up alien bastards for the first time in forever. "For now, let's go have some fun. Gun it."

Rookie floored the engine, and the Mongoose took off across the barren hills, carrying the ODSTs back into the teeth of the enemy.

Back into war.

* * *

_(That one took a little longer than I expected. I was trying to get the drop sequence to seem more awesome; not sure if I succeeded. However, now we get to the real fun part- killing alien mofos. Next chapter will be out soon! Until then, read, review, and favorite!)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Most characters in this story are owned by Bungie, 343, or the authors of the Halo books, particularly Karen Traviss. This is simply me borrowing their characters. _

_Enjoy!_

Blood and Glass

The Shangeili sniffed at the air, his long neck swiveling as he glanced left and right at the hills that surrounded his post, not expecting so see anything new. Hardly anything lived on this world except for a handful of hardy avian creatures, and the boredom was appalling. The Shangeili, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar in the outpost had seen an uneventful eight cycles now, with no change in the daily routines. However, the Shangeili was well disciplined, and he knew better than to question the plans of his leaders.

His name was Rol 'Kryak, a lineage he bore with pride. Three generations of their keep had fought in the war against the humans, and later, against the San 'Shyuum. Now they stood against the humans once more, the Didact's rise showing his people that they had been right all along- the Forerunners _were _real, and they _were _gods. And both the humans and the Arbiter were blasphemers, deserving nothing but death.

Rol had never been overly devout, but he had been just as infuriated as the rest of his keep when the Arbiter had, by all appearances, turned his back on the gods and sided completely with the humans. The very day that Shangelios had received word of Requiem's existence, the 'Kryak keep had sent its one remaining ship and their best warriors to join the host that Jul 'Mdama was gathering there. Together, the newly formed Storm Covenant had followed the humans into Requiem to seek out the Didact that 'Mdama had claimed would be their leader against humanity.

And now the Didact was gone. Missing, and presumably, dead.

But Jul 'Mdama still fought on, and the rest of the Storm Covenant still followed him. They moved from planet to planet, gathering more allies and preparing to face the humans and their infernal warship once more.

_Infinity. _Rol could not properly say the word, although he had heard several human warriors shouting it during a battle on Requiem's surface. A proud name, but a lie. Only the Forerunners built things that lasted forever. Humans could never hope to match their legacy.

The massive ship would be crushed by the growing forces that 'Mdama led. And now, with the wretched human woman aiding them, they would learn all of humanity's secrets and destroy them on their home planet, eradicating the vermin for good. The galaxy would never be troubled by their presence again.

Rol was jarred out of his thoughts by the jabbering voices of a pack of Unggoy below him. The Shangeili looked down from the large upper rampart that ran around the top of the base, watching the small creatures waddle along towards another of their kind, who was waving a paw at something to the east and yelling something that Rol paused to listen to.

_A flashing light on the hills? _he thought. What in the heavens were the foolish creatures babbling about now? There was nothing out in this waste that could produce such an effect. The only reason he and a few unlucky others were in this outpost in the first place was to watch for any attempt by the humans to capture the one called Halsey.

_Wait…_

Rol's head snaked around to the right to look for the phenomenon-

And then it snapped back, a vapor trail of blue gore exiting his skull as the Shangeili was felled by a bullet moving several times faster than sound. Blood splattered the ramparts around the body, and an instant later, a loud crack ripped through the air.

Two more such cracks sounded as the heads of the other two Shangeili on the ramparts burst apart in bright blue splashes. Lines of smoke lingered in the air where they had stood for a split second before disappearing into the breeze. One more round tore through the heads of both of the Elites that stood on the ground, painting the walls of the outpost with their blood.

Not five seconds had elapsed from the first shot to the last.

The two Jackal snipers that stood nearby squawked in alarm, but could do no more than raise their weapons and look around before several bullets punched into their chests, killing them instantly and knocking them both off the ramparts.

As the bodies fell from their posts, the pack of Grunts panicked at the sudden outbreak of death, all of them running for the Ghosts that lay next to the base. They did not get far. Several flashes appeared on the crest of the hill that had been the source of suspicion, and then bullets were tearing into the methane tanks of the Unggoy. One tank after another exploded, blowing the gray aliens apart or setting them aflame.

Their screams died out quickly, leaving the crackling of flames as the only noise in the air.

That, and the growing roar of a Mongoose engine.

Within the outpost, another Shangeili stood at the communication console, frantically trying to contact the nearest base and inform them of the attack. He had witnessed the deaths of the others and had not considered for even a moment to go outside and fight. The humans that were obviously here for the Halsey woman were delivering death from afar, and he could not stop them by himself.

But he could warn the rest of the planet about their presence.

The screen he stood at suddenly went blank, shocking the Shangeili for a second before he tried to re-activate it. Nothing happened, and he roared in frustration, pounding on the interface now. What was going on? The equipment had just been working fine a second ago!

In his fury, the tall alien failed to hear the muted growl outside that swelled and then cut off, or the crunching of vitrified soil under something that approached the base.

What _did_ get his attention was the clacking sound of a shotgun being racked.

The Elite turned and stared into the barrel of a human weapon that had several silver skulls painted on the sides. Behind it stood what looked like a midnight-black version of the Demons that had haunted his people during the first war.

"Surprise, motherfucker," a voice growled from within behind the helmet's silver visor.

The shotgun fired.

* * *

Rookie stepped past the puddles of blue blood that that were growing around the corpses. Bodies lay everywhere around the base, most of them in pieces. He and Reaper were deadly at long range, both of the men having spent hours upon hours on the firing line with battle rifles and DMRs. Unlike Reaper, it was his preferred method of fighting, and it _worked_. The proof was in the gore that was turning the billions of minuscule shards of glass under his feet blue.

Rookie walked up the ramp of the Covenant outpost, moving through a corridor to find Reaper in the main room, looking through a storage unit full of Covenant weaponry. On the floor nearby, an Elite's corpse lay beneath a massive splash of blood on the wall. There was pretty much nothing left of the body from the shoulders up.

Turning away from the gruesome sight, Rookie instead looked at the monitors on the wall, opening the inner visor of his helmet. "BB," he asked, "you sure you cut them off in time?"

"I'm certain. There was no outbound signal traffic from this place," the A.I. said. A status light, indicating whether the micro-burst EMP they carried was activated, turned from green to red on Rookie's HUD, and the screens came back to life, one after another. "Hopefully, the communications here will be more helpful than at the last base we hit."

The outpost was the third location they had struck that day. The first hadn't even had communications; it was just an area for transport aircraft to pick up fuel and continue on their journeys. The other had included a communications platform, but it had not contained any data about Halsey's whereabouts. At both places, the ODSTs had wiped out the handfuls of Covenant troops that manned the stations, killing them quickly before any alarm could be raised. As per Captain Lasky's orders, they were avoiding a major fight at all costs.

Reaper pulled a plasma rifle out of the crate of weapons he was looking through, inspecting it for a moment before tossing it to Rookie. "Here," the Helljumper said, "you can take that to back up your sidearm. I'll stick with my M7s."

Rookie deftly caught the weapon, sliding it onto the weapon port on his right hip. His magnum already lay on his left; if necessary, Rookie could draw both weapons, one in each hand, and take the Covenant on akimbo style.

He almost laughed at that, imagining the sight in his mind. _Yeah, I could go all cowboy on the alien bastards, _he thought, _and they'd gun me down in seconds. We've got to fight smart while we're here. _

The Helljumper watched as information flowed across the monitors of the outpost's computers, BB rummaging through their contents with the wireless hacking equipment his NAV chip was equipped with. The A.I. hummed a tune as he worked, searching through all the data available at lightning speed. Cortana may have been an anomaly and an oddity to other A.I.s, but her battlefield experiences with Covenant systems had been shared with the rest of the A.I.s throughout the fleet, giving them the capability to access and utilize the enemy's information with ease.

Within seconds, he'd learned every single scrap of knowledge available at the outpost.

"Oh, here we are," BB said happily. Reaper and Rookie both blinked as new images popped up on their HUDs; one showed a large valley with several buildings scattered throughout it, Phantoms and Spirits filling every available space, while the other was a display of a huge purple building, at least three stories tall, with what looked like a small army of Storm Covenant troops and vehicles posted around it in a large camp.

"I saw this place earlier when the satellites first deployed, but I wasn't certain until now that the commanders of the Covenant remnant are there," the A.I. explained. "But there's no mistaking these communications they've been sending- Jul 'Mdama himself is at that command center, along with many of the Elites he's chosen to lead the Storm Covenant beside him."

Reaper grumbled in disappointment at that. "A shame _Infinity _couldn't stick around. One MAC round on that thing and this war would be over and done with."

"Reaper, we're here to _capture_ Halsey, not blast her to dust," Rookie admonished him. "It's likely she's in that base, so just blowing the thing sky-high isn't an option." He looked at the other image on his HUD, a large collection of Covenant aircraft. "Is this other place their main airfield?"

"Indeed. It's located about eight or so kilometers from that main base they're using; they apparently couldn't find any wide open space closer to them. And _that _means it's more than suitable for my plan."

Reaper tensed in indignation at the A.I.'s words. "We make the combat plans here, machine. Not you. We don't need-"

"Cool it man," Rookie cut him off with a warning glance. "Let's hear what he has to say."

"Thank you," BB said, clearly annoyed by the interruption. "As I was saying, I have a plan. The Covenant has a tendency to assume anyone piloting one of their vehicles is on their side. We can get inside that main base if we use their aircraft to do so."

Rookie thought about that for a moment, and then nodded. "So, sneak into that airfield, grab a Phantom, and just fly right in? Sounds legit, but… me and Reaper aren't rated to pilot enemy aircraft, BB."

"_I _am. Get aboard one of those Covenant transports and I'll tell you exactly what to do. Once we get inside that command center, you two can search the entire structure for Halsey." The A.I. paused, contemplating something, and then said, "I know Lasky and Osman wanted this to be a stealth mission. Your suits do have some limited cloaking abilities, but the two of you won't be able to sneak through that entire structure and perform a thorough search at the same time. You'll have to go in loud, which I'm sure you'll enjoy. I promise I won't tell the admiral."

"That does sound fun, BB," Reaper said, "but did you not notice the giant freaking _army _outside that place? We're good at this stuff, but all they have to do is swarm the building and we'll get overrun. All the ammo we have wouldn't stop them."

The A.I. chuckled evilly, and an image flashed through Rookie's imagination of the spinning blue cube with devil's horns and a pitchfork on it. "That's the fun part, Helljumper. All that glassing the Covenant did on this world, all those years ago? The local weather includes extremely strong winds that can turn the vitrified soil of entire landmasses into storms of razor-sharp glass. We're going to time our arrival with one of those storms and get inside the command center just before the storm hits. The Covies will seal the place up, the army camped around it will be sheltering from the glass storm, and you two will be alone with just enough hostiles to keep you happy."

Reaper laughed then, his attitude towards the A.I. turning around. "You are a devious little bastard, BB, I'll give you that. I actually like this plan; props to you for surprising me." Still chuckling, he pulled a plasma grenade from the weapon crate, attaching it to his belt as he started for the outpost's entrance. "Any idea when the next storm will be?"

"Two days. It'll take a full day of travel to reach that airfield, and then we'll simply conceal ourselves and wait."

"Fair enough. Rookie, come give me a hand with the bodies." Rookie took one last look at the Covenant communications systems before smashing them with his rifle stock, rendering them useless. He then followed Reaper outside, where his fellow Helljumper was already dragging the top half of a Grunt's body back into the base. Wordlessly, Rookie knelt and grabbed one of the Jackals, pulling the bird-like alien around to the door and hauling it inside. The vitrified soil beneath his feet crunched and tinkled as he dragged the body across the ground.

The grisly work took almost twenty minutes, since both of them had to work together to move the dead Elites, but soon, all the corpses were stacked in a pile within the outpost. No overhead aircraft would notice anything out of the ordinary, and the bloodstains blended into the purple hue of the building's walls fairly well. With luck, the destruction of the various garrisons they had attacked would go unnoticed until they had already captured Halsey.

"Man," Reaper commented, wiping blue blood off his hands, "that was some good shooting you did with the big rifle. Five hinge-heads in four shots is something I haven't heard of very often. You got enough ammo for the sniper to do that again?"

Rookie removed the empty sniper rifle from his back, taking another magazine out of a pocket on his armor and slapping it into the rifle. "I've got twelve shots left with this thing, but we won't have to worry about that now. You and that shotgun of yours are going to be the whole show inside that base, I bet."

Reaper's face grinned at him from within the ODST's helmet. The man looked excited at the prospect of a close quarters engagement. "Seems I will. Man, I really was worried that we weren't going to do anything exciting while we were here."

BB broke in with a huff. "I'm only supporting this because it's the fastest way to find Halsey. If we stood any chance of sneaking through that base, I'd take it; we have to keep our presence here unknown until the last possible moment. From what I found in the outpost's systems, though, that command center 'Mdama is using houses a good number of Covies- too many for you two to evade. An open search is our only chance to find the doctor."

"And when we find her?" Rookie asked. "You think we'll be able to just walk her out of there, cuffing her and reading off her rights? We'll have an army coming after us. That Black Cat isn't made for combat, so shooting our way off the planet is kind of out of the question."

The A.I. was silent for a while, apparently carefully thinking the problem through. Reaper and Rookie looked at each other for a second, wondering what BB could be planning.

Finally, BB spoke again. "Alright. I've got an idea that will probably work. It will take a lot of effort, and quite a bit of luck, but if we succeed we'll be able to escape the planet undetected, even once you two are done slaughtering everyone inside that base. We're going to have to clear that airfield of hostiles as well, though. And…"

Rookie didn't like the pause in the A.I.s voice. "What is it, BB?"

"…just be glad you're wearing those suits."

* * *

_(I was looking forward to this chapter, since I wanted to give a bit of insight of what the Storm Covenant are thinking during this whole conflict. Of course, since most of them are going to be killed, it might not matter too much what they believe, but hey- character development + death = better story. Also, for those of you who didn't know, vitrified soil is basically the glass left over from a Covenant glassing. A LOT of action in the next few chapters, it's going to be AWESOME! Follow and favorite!) _


End file.
